


3 Minutes.

by janetcarter



Category: The Secret Saturdays
Genre: CPR, Child Death, Episode Tag: War of the Cryptids, Gen, death scare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:28:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26017279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janetcarter/pseuds/janetcarter
Summary: When Doyle found Zak.
Relationships: The Saturday Family
Comments: 3
Kudos: 37
Collections: Hurt/Comfort Bingo - Round 11





	3 Minutes.

**Author's Note:**

> For the Hurt/Comfort prompt "CPR/Rescue Breathing." Tagged as Major Character Death because of the subject matter, but sticks with Zak surviving.

Zak wasn't moving. Drew's wails shook Doyle to his core, voicing everything he was too frozen to feel. In a split second, his whole world had fallen out from under him.

_Come on, do something!_ He flashed back to failing his parents, getting knocked down a slope by… by Argost while they bled out. And now he'd done it again. Argost had taken someone from him again.

Van Rook's corpse was still lying in the other room. And now Zak…

"Baby boy, please!" Drew yelled. She was hyperventilating as her palms pounded against Zak's small chest. Doc convinced her to let him take over. And Doyle still stood there. _Useless._

_They're dead because of you,_ something hissed.

_They're all dead, all because of you._

"No," he whispered. It was the first time he'd been able to move.

_Everyone you love dies. You should've just stayed away._

_"No!"_

Drew looked up at him, eyes red, bright spirit broken, hand clasping Zak's as Doc did everything he could. Fisk was standing all crumpled, wringing his hands and stuttering. Komodo and Zon were curled up beside Zak's body, watching, waiting.

Meanwhile Doyle was still standing a few feet away. His hands balled into fists. "There has to be something we can do."

Doc hadn't stopped doing chest compressions. It was the only noise filling the hall, echoing off of blood-colored bricks. They seemed to pulse like an angry sun.

"I'll carry him to the airship," Doyle said, watching Doc's robotic movements from chest to mouth. "Your tech… there has to be something…"

"If we move him…" Drew started. That was enough to send the message.

As soon as Doc's palms returned to Zak's chest, he stopped, eyes wide. Drew tried to shove him aside to take over but then, they all saw it - the slight rise and fall of Zak's chest. Something so small lit up the world so bright.

"Get him to the airship." Doc's command was music to Doyle's ears. He scooped Zak up and placed him in Doyle's arms. He was so light… "Medbay, now!"

-

Zak was alive. Not awake, but… alive.

Doc had finally let himself lose it once they were back at the airship and the machines told them as much about Zak's safety as they could. It was ironic, but… Doyle guessed it made sense. Keep your shit together during a crisis, finally crash once the responsibility is gone. Doyle was usually the type to run before responsibility could even lay its hands on him, before it could all sink in. Drew had calmed down since Weird World, but she was still pale, hands still trembling. Neither of them had left Zak's side. Neither had Fisk or Zon or Komodo.

But Doyle… he was just numb. For a minute, his nephew's frail body had been in his arms. His _life_ was literally in his hands. Doc had brought him back, but if he didn't get to the medbay soon enough, if Zon couldn't get Drew there in time to deal with all the medical equipment herself, if he had had to follow impossible instructions over the MVP and fucked it up like he fucked up everything else in his life…

Another death would've been his fault.

But it was okay. Zak was okay- _-alive_ , at least. They wouldn’t know the extent of the damage until he woke up. But… he was alive, and that was all Doyle could ask for.

Fisk's hand landed on Doyle's shoulder as he watched Zak's shallow breaths from afar. Evidently, sulking off to the side was something the Gorilla-Cat noticed. "I'm alright, big guy." He nodded over to Zak, Doc and Drew at his bedside. "Go be with your family."

Fisk squeezed Doyle's shoulder instead of walking off. Komodo nudged at his foot. Drew looked back to him and gave him a shaky nod. His feet were heavy as he walked over, but Doc made space for him to collapse beside Zak.

"Hey kid," he said quietly, hand on Zak's shoulder. "Come back to us, alright?"

Not long afterward, his nephew's gasp filled the room.


End file.
